Having been fortunate enough to expand my connections through etmooc also has a bit of a downside. So many inspiring educators, so much new learning, so many ideas to try, where do I start? There just aren't enough hours in the day to read all the blogs or all the great links posted on twitter.

We are all passionate educators and teachers keen on using technology to improve our teaching practices and enhance our students learning but the question is how do we know how much technology we are using and what type of technology we should be using ?

Think technology and education end with Word documents and Google Apps? Think again. SAMR, a model designed to help educators integrate technology into teaching and learning , was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. The model aims to enable teachers to design, develop, and integrate digital learning experiences that utilize technology to transform learning experiences to lead to high levels of achievement for students.

Computer technology is used to perform the same task as was done before the use of computers. Students print out worksheet, finish it, pass it in. No functional change in teaching and learning. There may well be times when this the appropriate level of work as there is no real gain to be had from computer technology.

Sometimes a visual guide comes along and it just makes total sense. That's how I felt about Allan Carrington's clever ' Padagogy Wheel' which we featured on Edudemic last week. Check out the previous version then view the one below to see the differences.

I recently got to watch the SAMR master himself, Dr. Ruben Puentedura take the stage at iPad Summit Boston. His SAMR model research is based on years of observing one-to-one technology integration in Maine's Student Laptop initiative (now called MLTI as we love acronyms in education).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0quYx53PI This video explores the misconception that SAMR model is a hierarchy through which teachers and students must race to the top. It presents the concepts of SAMR as a more fluid like wheel in which the levels work together as interlocking cogs or pieces of a puzzle.

Kathy Schrock's Guide :"SAMR, a model designed to help educators integrate technology into teaching and learning, was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, Ph.D.. The model aims to enable teachers to design, develop, and integrate digital learning experiences that utilize technology to transform learning experiences to lead to high levels of achievement for students."

SAMR is a model designed by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, Ph.D. that provides a framework for viewing technology integration in the classroom. The model identifies four specific levels of use and a clear point at which technology can be integrated into the classroom to go beyond engagement and transform learning to provide greater educational benefits.

There's lots of talk of the SAMR model, which simplifies the common process that people go through when introducing any technology, designed by Ruben R. Puentedura. This of course applies to introducing iPads too. There are 1000s of great examples of iPad use in primary / elementary schools but not as many in high schools....

SASSY SAMR

In order to provide teachers with an easy to follow framework to digest and apply the model to their own practices and instruction, I decided to create my own acronym, S.A.S.S.Y. based on an adaptation of Dr. Ruben’s app classification.....